❓ The Minister for Education and Training outlines steps taken to address concerns regarding the implementation, assessment, and resourcing of educational outcomes and standards in WA schools, including establishing a task force and accepting its recommendations.
AnsweredQoN 492Legislative Council
QuestionView source ↗
Will the minister advise the house of the steps that have been taken to address the implementation, assessment and resourcing requirements of the outcomes and standards in education in Western Australian schools? Hon LJILJANNA RAVLICH
AnswerView source ↗
I thank the member for that question. I put on record and remind members that about two and a half months after being appointed Minister for Education and Training, I certainly had my ears to the ground. A number of issues were raised with me about the assessment of courses of study for years 11 and 12. These were issues relating to external examinations, moderation and scaling, professional development and a number of other issues, including but not limited to an evaluation of the courses. Members might remember that I established a task force to work with the Curriculum Council and to report back to me with recommendations on how we can move forward and reduce some of the anxiety and uncertainty. I will quickly touch on some of the recommendations. In relation to the assessment and courses of study, the recommendation was that the proposed model for school management assessment and development by the Curriculum Council be maintained with a much more clearly defined process to assist teachers to use the scales of achievement. The scales were to be conveyed to schools by the end of August. The honourable member opposite told the house that there would not be any external assessment or moderation or scaling. He claimed that in Western Australia there was a pure OBE system. Members can see how out of touch he is. Recommendation 3, for example, was that the Curriculum Council, supported by a system of sector representatives on the task force, resolve external assessment examination issues such as the length of exams, the types of items, examination formats and the dissemination of the final decisions to schools by October 2005. There were recommendations about moderation. Recommendation 7 is that subject experts, including teacher representatives through either the assessment review, moderation panels or, where appropriate, courses of study reference groups, be convened or reconvened immediately by the Curriculum Council to address issues that have arisen in the past months relating to specific courses. In addition, the council should convene other regular forums for subject and discipline experts to re-engage them in the development process. Ten recommendations were presented to me and I accepted all recommendations. In two and half months, I have established the task force, received the report and supported the recommendations, and I do not know whether it would be humanly possible to have acted faster on this matter than I have done. I have made it my number one priority. I have listened to concerns. If the member opposite would take a bit of time out of his day to show some genuine interest, he might actually read the task force report so that he can familiarise himself with what has been done in order to address some of the concerns.
Hon LJILJANNA RAVLICH replied: I thank the member for that question. I put on record and remind members that about two and a half months after being appointed Minister for Education and Training, I certainly had my ears to the ground. A number of issues were raised with me about the assessment of courses of study for years 11 and 12. These were issues relating to external examinations, moderation and scaling, professional development and a number of other issues, including but not limited to an evaluation of the courses. Members might remember that I established a task force to work with the Curriculum Council and to report back to me with recommendations on how we can move forward and reduce some of the anxiety and uncertainty. I will quickly touch on some of the recommendations. In relation to the assessment and courses of study, the recommendation was that the proposed model for school management assessment and development by the Curriculum Council be maintained with a much more clearly defined process to assist teachers to use the scales of achievement. The scales were to be conveyed to schools by the end of August. The honourable member opposite told the house that there would not be any external assessment or moderation or scaling. He claimed that in Western Australia there was a pure OBE system. Members can see how out of touch he is. Recommendation 3, for example, was that the Curriculum Council, supported by a system of sector representatives on the task force, resolve external assessment examination issues such as the length of exams, the types of items, examination formats and the dissemination of the final decisions to schools by October 2005. There were recommendations about moderation. Recommendation 7 is that subject experts, including teacher representatives through either the assessment review, moderation panels or, where appropriate, courses of study reference groups, be convened or reconvened immediately by the Curriculum Council to address issues that have arisen in the past months relating to specific courses. In addition, the council should convene other regular forums for subject and discipline experts to re-engage them in the development process. Ten recommendations were presented to me and I accepted all recommendations. In two and half months, I have established the task force, received the report and supported the recommendations, and I do not know whether it would be humanly possible to have acted faster on this matter than I have done. I have made it my number one priority. I have listened to concerns. If the member opposite would take a bit of time out of his day to show some genuine interest, he might actually read the task force report so that he can familiarise himself with what has been done in order to address some of the concerns.
I thank the member for that question. I put on record and remind members that about two and a half months after being appointed Minister for Education and Training, I certainly had my ears to the ground. A number of issues were raised with me about the assessment of courses of study for years 11 and 12. These were issues relating to external examinations, moderation and scaling, professional development and a number of other issues, including but not limited to an evaluation of the courses. Members might remember that I established a task force to work with the Curriculum Council and to report back to me with recommendations on how we can move forward and reduce some of the anxiety and uncertainty. I will quickly touch on some of the recommendations. In relation to the assessment and courses of study, the recommendation was that the proposed model for school management assessment and development by the Curriculum Council be maintained with a much more clearly defined process to assist teachers to use the scales of achievement. The scales were to be conveyed to schools by the end of August. The honourable member opposite told the house that there would not be any external assessment or moderation or scaling. He claimed that in Western Australia there was a pure OBE system. Members can see how out of touch he is. Recommendation 3, for example, was that the Curriculum Council, supported by a system of sector representatives on the task force, resolve external assessment examination issues such as the length of exams, the types of items, examination formats and the dissemination of the final decisions to schools by October 2005. There were recommendations about moderation. Recommendation 7 is that subject experts, including teacher representatives through either the assessment review, moderation panels or, where appropriate, courses of study reference groups, be convened or reconvened immediately by the Curriculum Council to address issues that have arisen in the past months relating to specific courses. In addition, the council should convene other regular forums for subject and discipline experts to re-engage them in the development process. Ten recommendations were presented to me and I accepted all recommendations. In two and half months, I have established the task force, received the report and supported the recommendations, and I do not know whether it would be humanly possible to have acted faster on this matter than I have done. I have made it my number one priority. I have listened to concerns. If the member opposite would take a bit of time out of his day to show some genuine interest, he might actually read the task force report so that he can familiarise himself with what has been done in order to address some of the concerns.
I put on record and remind members that about two and a half months after being appointed Minister for Education and Training, I certainly had my ears to the ground. A number of issues were raised with me about the assessment of courses of study for years 11 and 12. These were issues relating to external examinations, moderation and scaling, professional development and a number of other issues, including but not limited to an evaluation of the courses. Members might remember that I established a task force to work with the Curriculum Council and to report back to me with recommendations on how we can move forward and reduce some of the anxiety and uncertainty. I will quickly touch on some of the recommendations. In relation to the assessment and courses of study, the recommendation was that the proposed model for school management assessment and development by the Curriculum Council be maintained with a much more clearly defined process to assist teachers to use the scales of achievement. The scales were to be conveyed to schools by the end of August. The honourable member opposite told the house that there would not be any external assessment or moderation or scaling. He claimed that in Western Australia there was a pure OBE system. Members can see how out of touch he is. Recommendation 3, for example, was that the Curriculum Council, supported by a system of sector representatives on the task force, resolve external assessment examination issues such as the length of exams, the types of items, examination formats and the dissemination of the final decisions to schools by October 2005. There were recommendations about moderation. Recommendation 7 is that subject experts, including teacher representatives through either the assessment review, moderation panels or, where appropriate, courses of study reference groups, be convened or reconvened immediately by the Curriculum Council to address issues that have arisen in the past months relating to specific courses. In addition, the council should convene other regular forums for subject and discipline experts to re-engage them in the development process. Ten recommendations were presented to me and I accepted all recommendations. In two and half months, I have established the task force, received the report and supported the recommendations, and I do not know whether it would be humanly possible to have acted faster on this matter than I have done. I have made it my number one priority. I have listened to concerns. If the member opposite would take a bit of time out of his day to show some genuine interest, he might actually read the task force report so that he can familiarise himself with what has been done in order to address some of the concerns.
The honourable member opposite told the house that there would not be any external assessment or moderation or scaling. He claimed that in Western Australia there was a pure OBE system. Members can see how out of touch he is. Recommendation 3, for example, was that the Curriculum Council, supported by a system of sector representatives on the task force, resolve external assessment examination issues such as the length of exams, the types of items, examination formats and the dissemination of the final decisions to schools by October 2005. There were recommendations about moderation. Recommendation 7 is that subject experts, including teacher representatives through either the assessment review, moderation panels or, where appropriate, courses of study reference groups, be convened or reconvened immediately by the Curriculum Council to address issues that have arisen in the past months relating to specific courses. In addition, the council should convene other regular forums for subject and discipline experts to re-engage them in the development process. Ten recommendations were presented to me and I accepted all recommendations. In two and half months, I have established the task force, received the report and supported the recommendations, and I do not know whether it would be humanly possible to have acted faster on this matter than I have done. I have made it my number one priority. I have listened to concerns. If the member opposite would take a bit of time out of his day to show some genuine interest, he might actually read the task force report so that he can familiarise himself with what has been done in order to address some of the concerns.
Ten recommendations were presented to me and I accepted all recommendations. In two and half months, I have established the task force, received the report and supported the recommendations, and I do not know whether it would be humanly possible to have acted faster on this matter than I have done. I have made it my number one priority. I have listened to concerns. If the member opposite would take a bit of time out of his day to show some genuine interest, he might actually read the task force report so that he can familiarise himself with what has been done in order to address some of the concerns.
Hon LJILJANNA RAVLICH replied: I thank the member for that question. I put on record and remind members that about two and a half months after being appointed Minister for Education and Training, I certainly had my ears to the ground. A number of issues were raised with me about the assessment of courses of study for years 11 and 12. These were issues relating to external examinations, moderation and scaling, professional development and a number of other issues, including but not limited to an evaluation of the courses. Members might remember that I established a task force to work with the Curriculum Council and to report back to me with recommendations on how we can move forward and reduce some of the anxiety and uncertainty. I will quickly touch on some of the recommendations. In relation to the assessment and courses of study, the recommendation was that the proposed model for school management assessment and development by the Curriculum Council be maintained with a much more clearly defined process to assist teachers to use the scales of achievement. The scales were to be conveyed to schools by the end of August. The honourable member opposite told the house that there would not be any external assessment or moderation or scaling. He claimed that in Western Australia there was a pure OBE system. Members can see how out of touch he is. Recommendation 3, for example, was that the Curriculum Council, supported by a system of sector representatives on the task force, resolve external assessment examination issues such as the length of exams, the types of items, examination formats and the dissemination of the final decisions to schools by October 2005. There were recommendations about moderation. Recommendation 7 is that subject experts, including teacher representatives through either the assessment review, moderation panels or, where appropriate, courses of study reference groups, be convened or reconvened immediately by the Curriculum Council to address issues that have arisen in the past months relating to specific courses. In addition, the council should convene other regular forums for subject and discipline experts to re-engage them in the development process. Ten recommendations were presented to me and I accepted all recommendations. In two and half months, I have established the task force, received the report and supported the recommendations, and I do not know whether it would be humanly possible to have acted faster on this matter than I have done. I have made it my number one priority. I have listened to concerns. If the member opposite would take a bit of time out of his day to show some genuine interest, he might actually read the task force report so that he can familiarise himself with what has been done in order to address some of the concerns.
I thank the member for that question. I put on record and remind members that about two and a half months after being appointed Minister for Education and Training, I certainly had my ears to the ground. A number of issues were raised with me about the assessment of courses of study for years 11 and 12. These were issues relating to external examinations, moderation and scaling, professional development and a number of other issues, including but not limited to an evaluation of the courses. Members might remember that I established a task force to work with the Curriculum Council and to report back to me with recommendations on how we can move forward and reduce some of the anxiety and uncertainty. I will quickly touch on some of the recommendations. In relation to the assessment and courses of study, the recommendation was that the proposed model for school management assessment and development by the Curriculum Council be maintained with a much more clearly defined process to assist teachers to use the scales of achievement. The scales were to be conveyed to schools by the end of August. The honourable member opposite told the house that there would not be any external assessment or moderation or scaling. He claimed that in Western Australia there was a pure OBE system. Members can see how out of touch he is. Recommendation 3, for example, was that the Curriculum Council, supported by a system of sector representatives on the task force, resolve external assessment examination issues such as the length of exams, the types of items, examination formats and the dissemination of the final decisions to schools by October 2005. There were recommendations about moderation. Recommendation 7 is that subject experts, including teacher representatives through either the assessment review, moderation panels or, where appropriate, courses of study reference groups, be convened or reconvened immediately by the Curriculum Council to address issues that have arisen in the past months relating to specific courses. In addition, the council should convene other regular forums for subject and discipline experts to re-engage them in the development process. Ten recommendations were presented to me and I accepted all recommendations. In two and half months, I have established the task force, received the report and supported the recommendations, and I do not know whether it would be humanly possible to have acted faster on this matter than I have done. I have made it my number one priority. I have listened to concerns. If the member opposite would take a bit of time out of his day to show some genuine interest, he might actually read the task force report so that he can familiarise himself with what has been done in order to address some of the concerns.
I put on record and remind members that about two and a half months after being appointed Minister for Education and Training, I certainly had my ears to the ground. A number of issues were raised with me about the assessment of courses of study for years 11 and 12. These were issues relating to external examinations, moderation and scaling, professional development and a number of other issues, including but not limited to an evaluation of the courses. Members might remember that I established a task force to work with the Curriculum Council and to report back to me with recommendations on how we can move forward and reduce some of the anxiety and uncertainty. I will quickly touch on some of the recommendations. In relation to the assessment and courses of study, the recommendation was that the proposed model for school management assessment and development by the Curriculum Council be maintained with a much more clearly defined process to assist teachers to use the scales of achievement. The scales were to be conveyed to schools by the end of August. The honourable member opposite told the house that there would not be any external assessment or moderation or scaling. He claimed that in Western Australia there was a pure OBE system. Members can see how out of touch he is. Recommendation 3, for example, was that the Curriculum Council, supported by a system of sector representatives on the task force, resolve external assessment examination issues such as the length of exams, the types of items, examination formats and the dissemination of the final decisions to schools by October 2005. There were recommendations about moderation. Recommendation 7 is that subject experts, including teacher representatives through either the assessment review, moderation panels or, where appropriate, courses of study reference groups, be convened or reconvened immediately by the Curriculum Council to address issues that have arisen in the past months relating to specific courses. In addition, the council should convene other regular forums for subject and discipline experts to re-engage them in the development process. Ten recommendations were presented to me and I accepted all recommendations. In two and half months, I have established the task force, received the report and supported the recommendations, and I do not know whether it would be humanly possible to have acted faster on this matter than I have done. I have made it my number one priority. I have listened to concerns. If the member opposite would take a bit of time out of his day to show some genuine interest, he might actually read the task force report so that he can familiarise himself with what has been done in order to address some of the concerns.
The honourable member opposite told the house that there would not be any external assessment or moderation or scaling. He claimed that in Western Australia there was a pure OBE system. Members can see how out of touch he is. Recommendation 3, for example, was that the Curriculum Council, supported by a system of sector representatives on the task force, resolve external assessment examination issues such as the length of exams, the types of items, examination formats and the dissemination of the final decisions to schools by October 2005. There were recommendations about moderation. Recommendation 7 is that subject experts, including teacher representatives through either the assessment review, moderation panels or, where appropriate, courses of study reference groups, be convened or reconvened immediately by the Curriculum Council to address issues that have arisen in the past months relating to specific courses. In addition, the council should convene other regular forums for subject and discipline experts to re-engage them in the development process. Ten recommendations were presented to me and I accepted all recommendations. In two and half months, I have established the task force, received the report and supported the recommendations, and I do not know whether it would be humanly possible to have acted faster on this matter than I have done. I have made it my number one priority. I have listened to concerns. If the member opposite would take a bit of time out of his day to show some genuine interest, he might actually read the task force report so that he can familiarise himself with what has been done in order to address some of the concerns.
Ten recommendations were presented to me and I accepted all recommendations. In two and half months, I have established the task force, received the report and supported the recommendations, and I do not know whether it would be humanly possible to have acted faster on this matter than I have done. I have made it my number one priority. I have listened to concerns. If the member opposite would take a bit of time out of his day to show some genuine interest, he might actually read the task force report so that he can familiarise himself with what has been done in order to address some of the concerns.
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